Manipulator



'5 sheets-sheet 1 lF-N Nov. 10, 1925.

F. C. BIGGERT, JR., AL

A MANIPULATOR v Filed May 24, 1923 1 l l l l |l||||||| r l l l l l I IlF. C. BIGGERT. JR.. ET AL HANIPULTOR 'mea nay .-24, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet3 INVENTOR S Now-10, 1925. *K

Patented Nov. l0, 1925.

N IT E D ST VANIA, AssrGNoRsTo UNITED .ENGINEERING ANnfroUNnRY,eorfrr'aNz, on. igrm'yrs- BURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, `A- ooRBoRaTIo-Nf or.,rENNsYLvANaAa Application ineay May 2,4,r 192.31-

seriai-No; 641,145.1

T o /LZZ 'LU/10m Maag/concerne Be 1tV known that we, FLORENCE C. BIG'-GERT, J r., and LANE JOHNSON, both' citizens` ment in Manipulators, ofwhich the follow ing is a full, clear, andeXact description'.

' The'present invention relates broadly to='-y the metal-working art,andmorev particu-v larly to manipulatorsfor rolling mills."

In a manipulator for rolling mills, it is d'e- 4 v y sirable 'that'theparts operative upon the-ingot to shift it laterally and to turn it onits p axis, it being shifted bacl andlqf'orth transversely of the rolltable, be given astra-ightline motion. YIt is also desirablethatthese-Aparts be supported and'operated by means positioned outside thel areabeneath the roll' table in order to` avoidthe injurious eec't's of heat,scale and dirt upon the manipulator mechanism, andparticuliarly uponthe'bearh ing .surfaces of the movable parts thereof. On the other hand,it is important that the; partsreferred to be supportedas'l'owaspracticable with respect to the level oftheroll table in order torender themV readillyfaccessible and to provide' as compacta struc-4ture as possible. Furthermore, itis advanta-l geous to support theloperating parts'- of the manipulator mechanism entirelyl indepen''dently of the roll'A tablev itself in -ord'er that the manipulator maybe readily assembled' or disassembled without disturbing the roll table,and may be positioned at any desired location with respect tothe latterBy the present invention we have provided a manipulator embodying theabovey and other desirable features.

In. the accompanying drawings, there is' shown, for purposesofflllustratlon only, oneA embodiment of the present' invention,itbeunderstood that the drawings do not define the limits of theinvention, as changes may be made in the construction andr opera".-

tion therein disclosed without departing Figure 2A-is an endelbvation,insec-` tion, of the structuresh'oWn'inlFigu-re 17;' l

Figure; 'fifs a transverse vertical sectienalfv. view' talenlon the lineIII'-HIofFigu-re' r lFigure 4 isf a detail"Y vew'- ofthe-yieldingpi-wotal support for a-iniger-carrying lever,- Figure 5 is a detailsectional vif'e'wtalrenfonxthe linev of'Fifgure 2. The referencenumeral'2 designatesa rolli table of the usuali" con'structio'n': -vThe-manip# ulator may conveniently be formed two sectionsv r` aind 'B0positioned at'- opposite sides of;- theroll' tab'leandfspacedlateralglyf therefrom. The section A may comprise4v aa.

side guard5v 3? for engagingfand shifting the ingotsflaterally ori-thetablegsai'd-'sidb guardi being supportedabove the level of the'f'ed'carried upon an end ofY a pairof "parallel beams 4l extendngat right fangles tleretof'and slidably mounted* upon horizontalA rails 5'. Thebeams 4 may be formed as hollow castings of`Y channelfornr at theirbases, thereby providing depending lateral r flanges 6?' for enLga'g'ement With,V the edges of* the rails 5i' Plates 7 bolted to. thelowerl edges ofthe flanges 6v engage the under faces of the f rails 5and thereby" maintainthei beams-inl engagementwith said'ra-il'sg.

By reference tof Figure 3f, it: will be seeny that avgroovevvSf-*is-'provided between thev en'v` gaging surfaces of each beam4*agnjditsj4 rail support- 5; Thel groovesv 8L mayvl be supplied?v witha suitable` lubricant', and', byr'eason of. the fact that they rails 5raire Vpositionedv later` ally vof the' roll table and at somel distanceVtherefrom, the lubricant will not'- bejobjectionably1 affected by theheat` fromthegroll;K table as portions ofthe: rails arel alternatelycovered; and uncovered during ,operation of the manipulator. 'Y

The bearing surfaces of theA rails .5r arei in i a horizontalplane whichis approximately coincident with a planetangent',` to the feedy rollerslat, the'` upper side thereo`f',althoughi iny the construction" shown,the.. planeof said bearing. surfaces is' actually-,slightly below''said'l tangent plane'. This-:arrangement: of 7 k the bearing'surfacesof' the; rails 5* enables: the' beams 4' to be located''inf-thesame hori-` Zontal5H plane, approximately, astheiside guard 3-,`so' thatall' ,part-'sz of.V the'Sma-nipul-ator are positiorie'drelatively low tothe level of the roll table, thereby producingY lfReciprocation yofrails 5 may be eected byf'anyI suitable means, such as fluid-pressurecylinders. Re; erring to Figure 1, it will be seen thatthe" beams 4f areactuated by a pair. oi`` coopera-t ing alined cylinders 9 having acommon pistoured-10. A` pair of links 11 ispivotal-ly connected at'b'ne'end tothe piston ro'rd '10 and at itsf opposite end .to a rocker farm 12:carried by 'a' rock-'shaft 13; i 1The roclrssl'iaft'13 is operativelyconnected to the beams'by rocker' arms 14. carried by .-the-rock-shai'tbar 16 extending` transversely of the and links 15 connecting saidrocker arms `to said beams. l Y

The pair ogbeams'fje is `connected at-its` end remoteirom .the rolltable` by a brace u n section A and' parallel to -t-he side guardV 3...The brace 16 insures uniorm'movement/of'the beams 4 vand consequently?of` the .side gualdfir i; Cooperating vwi-ththe side. guard isa seriesof manipulator fingers y for .engag-y ing and turning the ingotsf ontheir axes.' The `lingers 17 arefUl-shaped, and each vfinger isintegrally connect-ed,` to` one end of a v'lever 18"which`may be ofinverted channelform. Asshown, the levers 18` are pivotally con# nectedat'the end remote from therroll table tobloclzs 19 ymounted for limitedsliding movementuponthe brace 16..` In Figure 4 we have illustrated `in--detail`r the vmanner in which a block 19 is mounted upon the brace bar.As Vshown therein,` the `block 19 is mounted for limited-slidingmovement between a shoulder 2O on the brace 16 and a shoulder 21 on acover-plate 22'... A-bolt`23 extends through. the shoulderr'()` and theblock 19 and -is'surrounded -by a coil spring 2e interposed between the,block and the shoulder 20, and normally nfiaintaining` the blockpressed against-the shoulder 2l. rlhis construction provides a yield-ingpivotal conf nectionor Vthe. finger-carrying levers 18 at one side ofkthejroll table, so that incase an. ingot tendsto jam 'duringtheturningfthereor`j,-tlieiingers are enabled tofvield toward thesideguard. and allow :the slidefguard to take the entire lateral thrustofthe iingot. without breaking of the lingers..

.uit rock-shaft 25 vis supported inandextends transversely of the.section A5 adjas centlthe end thereof'nearest the roll table. rl"herock-shaft Qisc-onneclted withfeach of thejlevers -18 by means oa.rocker arm 26 carried the 1ock=`shaft and a .link'Q connecting the`rocker arm tothe corresponds. ing lever 18 intermediate .the ends ofthelatter.` 'The roc'lr-sliaft` is actuated. and controlled.l a pair oi".cooperating` alined fluid-pressure cylinders 28 and 29 having aihe.beams.'tfiiroithff Y that each linger-1f? is formed with'a -Thead Y33 Where it oins its lever 18, said `l'liead color aslot 35..in .thesideguard 3 to limit reference tovliigurezfit willbe'seen operating withshoulders 34 at the lower end the downward movement of the linger. TheT-heads 33 of all of the ngers are normally maintainedin engagement-with- Vthe 'coop-i erating shoulders 34 byv the fluidpressure cylinder28, whiehmaintains su'liicient `pressure-upon its piston to counteractthe tendency of the levers 18.to swing `upwardly during theirreciprocation transverselyv .of the roll table; 'It willfrbe apparent,byreference to Figure 2,Athat duringrsuch vmovement 'of the` levers1.8the pivot points 36 of` the links with. ,.tlie levers tend" to movein`arcs 'of circles andfthereby. cause the llevers to swing verticallyabout their points" of pivotal connection with .the brace bar 16,-'but,owing .to thefpressure v,inl the fluid-pressure cylinder 28". on thepiston therein,the. T-heads 33 are. maintained in engagement. with. .theshoulders 34 during the aforementioned reciprocating finovements of thelevers, the fluid-pressure'cylinder .28 actuating the rock-shaft 25during such movements to. maintainfthe saidy engagement between saidT-heads and shoulders.

Y The fluid-pressure cylinder 29 is more powerful than the cylinder 28Yand is, thereore,fenabled to overcome the latter for rocking therock-shaft 25 in .a .direction to raise the fingers 17.for turningtheingotsentheir axes ai'tersaid ingots have been shilted'laterally-on therolltable. f .i i

- Ve-havedesignated theparts of the manipulator section B by.. the` same`reference characters as the corresponding. parts of the sectionAbutwith said. reference characters primed. rlhe section B maybe similar.in construction to the vsection A. It willA be. noted, however, that inthe construction shown the `fluid-.pressure cylinders 9 and 28" and 29.are arrangedV slightly differently from the correspondingvfluid-pressure cylinders .of the section AL; tfwill further Vbenotedthat the lingen-carrying levers 18. are formed vwith a raisedportiontoiclear the roll table driving mechanism, and thatthese leversare pivoted directly to the brace bar 1,6. Oi' course it will beunderstood that these levers. may, if desired, be pivotally mounted forvyielding movei'neifi-t-` but. ordinarily it will only be necessary topivotY the levers at one side of the table for yielding movement. n l

An important: advantage of the. present invention arises.- from theprovision `of .a manipulator all of the supporting and operating partsof which are positioned outside tion.

A further advantage of the invention arises from theprovision of a.manipulator in which the parts for engaging and manipulating the ingotshave a straightline movement transversely of the roll table. i

Another advantage of the invention'arises from the provision of amanipulatorv all parts of which are supported entirely independentlyofthe roll table itself.

Still another advantage ofthe invention arises from the provision of ayielding pivotal connection between the finger-carry-V ing levers at oneside of the roll table and the supporting means forthe correspondingside guard, whereby danger of breaking of the fingers is avoided.

A still further advantage of the invention arises from the provision ofbearing surfaces for the. supporting means, for the side guards whichare positioned laterally of the ingot feedingmeans, means movabletransroll table at a distance therefrom lsuiicient to permit said.`surfaces to be lubricated without the lubricant being objectionablyafectedby the heat from the roll table.

We claim:

1. In a manipulator, in' combination with versely of and above saidfeeding means for engaging the ingots and shifting the Asame laterallyon said feeding means, supporting means for said ingot engagingV meanssupported wholly outside the area beneath said feeding means and atapproximately the level of the latter and'independently thereof and forstraight-line movement, means for actuating said supporting means,andingot turning means mounted for movement independentlyv of said lirstmentioned means in one direction, substantiallyy as described.

2. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, meansmovable transversely of and above said feeding means for engaging theingots and shifting thesame laterally on said feeding means, supportingmeans for said ingot engaging means supported independently of andwholly outside the area beneath said feeding means and below the levelof the latter and for straightline movement, means for actuating saidsupporting means, and ingot turning means mounted for movementindependently of said first mentioned means in one direction,substantially as described.

In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, means movabletransversely of and above sai-d feeding means for engaging the ingotsand shifting the same laterally on'said feeding means, supporting meansfor said ingot engaging means supported independently of and whollyoutsidethe area beneath said feeding means and at approximately thelevel of the latterand forstraight-line movement, means for actun atingsaid supporting means, ingot turni-ng means connected to saidsupportingmeans fory movement therewith, and means `for moving saidingot turning means vertically, substantially as describe l .y

a. In a manipulator, in; combination with ingot feeding means, meansmovable transversely of and above said feeding means for engagingtheingots and shifting the Vsaine laterally on said feeding means,supporting means forsaid ingot engaging meanssup-v ported independentlyof and .wholly outside the area beneath said feeding means y,and atapproximately the level of the latter and for straight-line movement,lmeans for actuating said supporting means ingot turningV `meansconnected to said supporting means foi1 movement therewith, means forcausing said ingot turning meansto move withl saidA supporting means inastraight line, and means for moving said ingot turning means ,vertically substantially as described. 1 5. VIn a manipulator, incombinationyvwith ingot `feeding means, means movable transversely ofand above said feeding means for engaging the ingots and shifting thesame laterally on said feeding means, supporting means for said ingotengaging means sup,- ported wholly outs-ide the area beneath saidfeeding means and at approximately the level of the latter andy forstraight-line movement, means forY actuating saidsupportingl means,ingot `turning means, means yieldingly connecting said ingot turninglmeans to said lsup'portirng means for movement therewith, and means formoving saidingot turning means vertically, substantially. as

described. 6.1)11 aimanipulator in combination with ingotfeeding means,means movable trans vers'elyfofand above said feedingv nea'nsforengaging the ingots .and shifting the samev laterally on said feedingmeans,suppbrting means for said ingot engaging meansslidably supportedindependently of and wholly outside the area beneath said feeding meansand at approximately the level of the latter' and for straight-linemovement, and means for actuating' said supporting means, Vsubstantiallyas described.

7. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, a sideguard movable transversely of and abo-ve said feeding means for engagingthe ingots and shifting the same laterally on said feeding means, railshaving their supporting surfaces arranged wholly outside the areabeneath the feeding means and below the level of the latter, beamssupporting said kside guard and slidably supported upon said rails, andmeans for reciprocating said beams on said rails, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, a sideguard movable transversely of and above said feeding means for engagingthe ingots and shiftingY feeding means and below the level ofthe latter,beams supporting said side guard and slidably supported upon said rails,means for reciprocating said beams on said rails, fingers for engagingand turning the ingots, levers supporting said lingers at one endthereof and pivotally connected at the other end thereof to said beamswhereby to cause said levers to move with said beams, and means formoving ,said levers about their pivots to shift said lingers in avertical direction, substantially as described.

.9. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, a sideguard movable transversely of and Aabove said feeding means for engagingtheingots and shifting the lsame laterally'on said feeding means, railshaving their supporting surfaces arranged wholly outside the areabeneath the feeding means and below the level of the latter, beamssupporting said side guard and slidably supported upon said rails, meansfor reciprocating said beams on said rails, lingers for engaging andturning the ingots, levers .c supporting said lingers at one end thereofand pivotally connected at the other end thereof to said beams wherebyto cause saidlevers to move with said beams, means for moving saidlevers about their pivots to shift said fingers in a vertical direction,means for limiting downward movement of said fingers, and means formaintainingsaid fingers at the limit of their downward movement duringthe movement thereof with said beams, substantially as described.

10. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, meansaffording a sliding supporting surface wholly at one side ofsaid feedingmeans and below the level of the latter, supporting means slidablysupported upon said surface, said supporting means and `said surfacehaving a lubricant holding recess therebetween, means carried by saidsupporting means for engaging and shifting the ingots on' saidfeedingmeans, and means for reciprocating said supporting' means onsaidsupporting surface, substan limited sliding movement on said support-ying means and having said lever pivoted at itsvotherk end thereto,Ayielding means for normally maintaining said member at one limit of itssliding movement,` and means for swinging said lever about its pivot toraise and lower said ingot turning means, substantially as described.

l2. In a manipulator, in combination with ingot feeding means, ingotshifting means, meansaffording a plurality of bearing surfaces wholly atone side of said yfeeding means and below the level thereof, support-'ing means for said ingot shifting means slidably supported upon saidsurfaces, a rock-shaft, means connecting said rockshaft with saidsupporting means, means for actuating said rock-shaft, a plurality ofingot turning members', levers supporting said ingot turning members andpivoted to said support-ing means, a second rock-shaft, means connectingsaid second rock-shaft to said levers, and means for actuating saidsecond rock-shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

FLORENCE c. BIGGEBT, JR. LANE JoHNsoN.

